The Execration of Pathological Problem Solving

A Dream

This morning I awoke from an abstract dream that was merely a fictitious apparition of a deep sleep, a dream that strayed from one random moment to another. There was no particular perplexity in the dream, yet when I surfaced from the fog that is produced in such deep sleep, I still lingered on how to resolve the issue. I was trying to resolve a conflict that wasn’t reality and didn’t need resolution.

There are these moments in time, where you feel that you have awaken from a dream into a cathartic construct of thought. I get them from time to time and always embrace them. They are generally revelations about myself and even when I may not like what the mirror of reality may hold, I still appreciate the opportunity to see what can be changed, what must be changed to develop into  one that Christ would have come to save.  I know that I can’t “earn” His gift, otherwise it wouldn’t be a gift, but I can life a life that is responsive to that gift.

Revelation

This morning I had one such moment of revelation. I like resolving issues. I’ve been given a gift to find particular weaknesses in organizations, tools, applications and sometimes even people. The problem with this gift is that I don’t often keep it in balance and sway toward the almost narcissistic need to “fix” things. I can become obsessed with problem-solving and work to fight on staying focused on what is important and what is not.

In the maturation process I’ve had to overcome a number of issues, as I’m sure we all do. The more prevailing amoung them is my need to see things fixed. Often times my interrpretation of “fixed” and the interpretation of others is vastly different. For each time that I’ve observed a problem there have been equal times I’ve been wrong and sacrificed personal relationships toward curing a issue, that no one else is interested in resolving.

Resolution

As I write this, I am beginning the first day after Christmas. I, like many, began to reflect on the previous year and start looking toward the next. I’ve been very blessed in the past ten years or so, since developing my faith and following Christ. It has brought a very real change in my life and in my outlook on others, but there is still room to grow.

In the past two days I have had moments of clarity on how I wish to evolve in the upcoming decade. I want very much to be more careful in the words I choose, the time I use them and the problems I need to prevail in resolving. I need to stop taking on the charge of Don Quixote and end the pugilism against windmills.

As we enter into the next year, my prayer for myself, my family and for you is that we’ll learn to focus on things of importance; our God, our family and our relationships. I pray that we all take a moment to pause before speaking, to listen to the soft but constant nudge of the Spirit to speak what is true, relevant, important and to avoid pious.

What are your prayers for the coming year?